Hazardous Liquid Substance Spill Due to Container Damage at Gwangyang Port

Responding to Ethylidene Norbornene Spill from Container Falling off Moored Ship

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Yeosu Maritime Police Station announced on the 15th that "some of the hazardous liquid substance (Ethylidene Norbornene) loaded during container operations on a vessel docked at Gwangyang Port container terminal leaked inside the ship."

According to Yeosu Maritime Police, at around 3:56 a.m. on the same day, a report was received from the on-site supervisor that a container was damaged during unloading operations on the 20,000-ton class container ship A (Panama-flagged, 20 crew members) at berth No. 15 of Gwangyang Port container terminal, causing flammable material to leak.

After receiving the report, the maritime police dispatched patrol vessels and pollution control boats. Upon inspection, it was estimated that while moving containers using a crane on ship A, the crane's fixing device broke, causing a container to fall inside the ship and damage the container holding the hazardous liquid substance, resulting in approximately 20 tons of Ethylidene Norbornene leaking into the ship's cargo hold.

It was also confirmed that some of the hazardous liquid substance flowed into the ship's drainage system and leaked into the sea. Patrol vessels and pollution control boats from the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation are searching the surrounding waters, but no marine pollution has been detected.

The maritime police are discussing the handling methods for the hazardous liquid substance (Ethylidene Norbornene) jointly with the Ministry of Environment and fire authorities. They plan to safely handle the damaged containers by unloading them onto land using cranes. Four patrol vessels, eight fire trucks, and private pollution control ships are responding to the emergency.

A Yeosu Maritime Police official stated, "We plan to investigate the exact cause of the accident and the amount of leakage by interviewing ship personnel and witnesses."

Meanwhile, the hazardous liquid substance (Ethylidene Norbornene) is a flammable material that can easily ignite by heat, sparks, or flames.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.